2018 Q1 Las Vegas Market Research Report

Author: John Stater

Date Published:
04/17/2018

Southern Nevada’s economy continued to expand in January 2018, but appears to be expanding at a slower rate than it did in 2017. Southern Nevada saw improved year-over-year growth this year compared to last in the categories of taxable sales and construction jobs, but otherwise saw growth slow or turn negative. Naturally, 2018 has only just begun and various entertainment projects and the recent tax reform may prove stimulating as the year proceeds.

Unemployment in the Las Vegas-Paradise MSA stood at 5.4 percent as of January 2018, up from 5.1 percent in January 2017. Unemployment peaked in Southern Nevada at 14.0 percent in January 2011, and has been generally headed down ever since. The area’s previous low unemployment was 3.7 percent in December 2005. The latest national unemployment figure was 4.1 percent in February 2018, down from 4.7 percent in February 2017. The national labor force participation rate improved to 63.0 percent in February 2018, even with the participation rate recorded in February 2017.